Where Demons Hide
by Lonesome Road
Summary: Naru was back. 5 years passed since that day by the lake, and Naru had finally returned. But Mai was different, she hasn't said a word since his arrival, not one. She was different, she was no longer the lively girl who cared way too much about everyone and everything, she was broken. What had happened while he was gone?
1. Prologue

Naru stared at Mai with sad eyes, watching her every move.

Five years.

It had been five whole years since he and Lin had left for England, 3 months since they had come back.

As soon as he had set foot on Japanese soil, Naru set out to find Mai, Lin focused on everyone else. It hadn't taken long, Ayako had returned to her parent's hospital and rather successful career as a doctor, it seemed she was only a miko on the side. Monk had gone back to doing gigs with his band, yet he still worked on cases. Masako had gone back to her show, and gotten engaged as well apparently, to one of her sponsor's sons or something. John continued work with his church helping orphans and Yasu had gone straight into college, the best college in fact, he was accepted into the best university in Japan. He was in very advanced classes and had just gotten his Master's Degree in psychology, at that rate he would get his Ph.D in no time.

But Mai, oh Mai...

After Mai had graduated high school, she had all but disappeared. After he had left, she had risen and become the top student in her school halfway through her 2nd year, taking all advanced classes. However, she was underqualified for scholarships and didnt' have enough money for college.

She was forced to move out of her apartment and, as far as Naru could tell, nobody from the old team had kept in touch with her, save Yasu, who seemed to have spared her a phone call about once a month.

Once Naru had found her, he'd been prepared for a huge argument and explosions of emotion on Mai's behalf, instead he'd found a broken girl with dead eyes. She had stared at him, like she didn't recognize him, and once he asked her to come back, she simply shrugged.

He hadn't been the only one to notice. Everyone was ecstatic to see Mai, and they all ran in for bear hugs, but she evaded them all.

No words, no explanations.

In fact, Naru didn't think he'd heard Mai speak at all.

It was sad, the Mai he knew, his Mai, was gone. She changed, she came back a completely different person. A new outlook, a new mindset, a new soul. And the girl that had once cared way too much about everyone and everything... no longer cared at all.


	2. Tea Time

Mai sat at her desk, mindlessly arranging and organizing some recent case files. Nothing serious had come to them yet, not like before, so far there had only been minor ghosts and false alarms that had only lasted a day.

She tugged uncomfortably at her scarf, she wished she could take it off, almost unconsciously she caught her hand creeping up to it before forcing it back down, she couldn't take it off here, not in front of them.

"Mai? Are you okay?" came Lin's voice.

She jerked her head up to meet the man's concerned gaze.

She nodded unsteadily, unable to maintain eye contact, and let her gaze slip downward. His one visible eye narrowed, suspicion seeping from him, as Mai returned to her tedious work. She checked to see if her mental barrier was up still up, she really didn't want Lin's shiki to read her. Satisfied that it was still functioning adequately, she extracted her journal from her bag and began to draw mindlessly.

Soon though the quiet atmosphere was broken by a long, drawn out scream followed by the sound of a slamming door.

"MAIIIIIIIIIIII!" came the voice of the one and only Takigawa Hosho's.

Said girl flinched as the monk came barreling into the room, arms outstretched as wide as they would go, heading for Mai's desk at lightspeed.

She gave a short sigh, stepping out of the way of the bear hug just in time for Monk to crash right into her desk chair. He skidded for several feet before flopping onto the ground. He lay there heaving, a large, idiotic grin on his face.

"I almost got you that time," he panted, evidently happy that Mai had even taken notice of him today.

She blinked, not amused, it had been like that ever since she started working at SPR again, everyone had been attempting to hug her, usually she ignored them and just ducked and weaved through her old friends, but once in a while they did do a big spectacle like that, forcing her to take notice of them.

"Sorry about him," Osamu Yasuhara walked into the office, hands in his pockets, followed by the rest of the SPR irregulars, apologetic looks adorning all of their faces.

Ignoring that, Mai began heading over to the file cabinet to finish her filing.

A hand landed on her wrist, preventing her from going any further, Yasu had hurt etched all over his face, "At least say something," he whispered.

Refusing to look him in the eyes, Mai slid her wrist out of his grasp, continuing with her work and, like Lin, taking no heed of the people who now stood around the room, chatting animatedly.

Mai wondered what her voice even sounded like, she hadn't spoken in years, just like she hadn't seen her own face. Mai avoided mirrors and completely disregarded reflections in water or glass storefronts. She had no clue what she looked like.

 _But what if..._

No. She was doing this to protect them, even though she knew they didn't care about her, even if they abandoned her, she still loved them enough to guard them, all of them, with her life.

The door to Naru's office slid open and out stepped the blue-eyed boy that broke her heart all those years, the same exact unreadable look of impassiveness on his face, a yellow manila envelope in his hands.

"Tea." he directed at Mai before turning to the rest of the room, "We have a case,"

Everybody was here, it must have been a real one this time. Figuring this meeting would be very long, she walked into the kitchen without a complaint, even she had had one, she wouldn't have voiced it.

As the brunette moved around the kitchenette, preparing the tea, Naru's voice echoed from just beyond the partition.

"It's a hotel in the Miyagi Prefecture, about two weeks ago guests began complaining, the complaints range between everything from random cold spots to objects being thrown through the air."

Mai listened with only half an ear, she wasn't even offended that they had started without her.

"The phenomena increased as time passed and gradually escalated from harmless acts into violent dangers. Recently, the owners were forced shut down the hotel and are no longer accepting reservations, as the last guest who stayed there woke up to a death threat written on the mirror, in blood, their blood."

"We'll be staying there for however long it takes to exorcise this ghost, but, as this seems to be a powerful spirit, it might take a while and I suggest all of you free up your schedules for the next few days."

"Geez Naru," Monk sighed, leaning forward and rubbing his forehead, "Could you be any more demanding?"

Naru didn't even spare him a glance, "Questions,"

"Me," Ayako piped up, "What is the name of the hotel, my family has connections in the Miyagi Prefecture, I might be able to help."

Mai piled the tea tray with cups, lifting the teapot to pour the boiling hot water in.

"Sakura Hotel, it's famous for it's cherry blossom views,"

A large crash echoed through the office, followed by a pained yelp, the SPR team all shot to their feet, running into the kitchenette, where Mai had screamed.

The brown-haired girl was doubled over in the middle of the room, the tea tray and cups on the floor, Earl Grey tea slowly spreading over the floor, the teapot was in shards at her feet and her skin was an angry red color.

"Mai, what happened!?" gasped Ayako, the miko ran forward, lifting the smaller girls raw arms, she had spilled boiling water all over herself.

Mai's eyes were wide and harried, she looked panicked.

The girl opened her mouth, "Going home early," she stated, causing everyone to freeze in their tracks. Her voice was dry and croaky, cracking, sounding as if she hadn't used it in a long time, which she hadn't.

She looked scared, terrified even. Lin stood off to the side, taking advantage of her low guard and sending his shiki to assess what was wrong, Naru's face hadn't changed, his impassive expression remained the same though his eyes narrowed, indicating his whirring mind.

Evidently ignoring Ayako blathering medical advice, telling her what to do, Mai ran out of the office.


	3. While You Were Gone (RE-UPLOADED)

Mai ran. From what, she couldn't say, from everything, from the office, from her former friends, she ran from it all.

It wasn't possible, it couldn't be. Why did the first case they get be there!? She couldn't go back there, she couldn't!

The world around was out of focus and fuzzy. The clatter of chains. Faceless people. Sinister laughter. Shadowy figures. _The pressure around her neck._ Her fingers reached up to pull the metal collar away from the scarred skin, but were met by the confusing sensation of fabric.

Still she coughed and sputtered and gasped as she would have before. The scarf at her neck and the bush at her side helped to keep her grounded in reality, but still the images flashed. "Mai!" Figures huddled around her and she instinctively drew back, her back pushed against the wall of the building.

The _brick_ wall of the building - not concrete - still swimming her mind resurfaced a little. Just enough for the figures to snap into focus momentarily.

Her friends. Her family. They _came._ Finally. She'd been waiting and hoping in this cellar, almost past believing that they would come. Yet here they are. She fell towards them in a heap.

Monk had her in his arms before she realized what was happening, and he readjusted her scarf for her. Only later did she realize that he must have been bristling with curiosity, then more than ever, to see what was beneath the scarf. But Monk, kind, caring, compassionate Monk would never disrespect her wishes.

At the moment, all she could do was curl in his arms. Breathing evenly again. She was safe they had saved her. Part of her mind screamed out that they hadn't - that Mai had saved herself, that they had never come - she whimpered again and shuddered more. Ayako was running her fingers through Mai's now-tangled hair. "It's okay, you're fine. It's okay." The words repeated themselves over and over as fingers brushed over her. The soft words lulled her emotionally-exhausted self and soon after that, she fell into a shallow sleep.

* * *

Two hours later Monk sat on the couch, Mai still curled in his arms. The mood around the office was drawn and tense, as if the air itself was waiting for something to happen. John, Ayako, and Masako were in the adjacent room, speaking in low tones.

Naru was sitting on the the couch opposite Monk and Mai, stock still and stiff, his black notebook open in his hands.

He wasn't reading, that much was obvious, though the young man retained his usual impassive expression, there was a fire behind his eyes, which stared unmovingly at the page. Lin was sitting and typing at his computer, as per usual, but his movement were stocky and uncoordinated.

No one could quite comprehend what had happened, the first time any of them had heard speak in years, she had a panic attack.

The worst part of it; it had been completely silent. No screaming, no begging, just wheezes and coughs as she grabbed at her neck, fighting an assailant that wasn't there.

What had happened to her?

It had been a while since Mai's breathing had evened out, and she had stopped shaking, so Monk assumed that she had fallen asleep. However, when he moved to put her down, Mai's arms tightened around his neck and what sounded like an involuntary whimper escaped her. Whatever had happened, she was clearly still terrified.

He grimaced, he needed to get up, his legs were falling asleep, but he couldn't leave Mai.

Someone cleared their throat, drawing the monk's attention, he looked up, meeting the steely gaze of Naru. He had gotten up from his seat on the couch and moved across the room, kneeling in front of Monk and Mai, arms outstretched and eyebrows raised, a meaningful expression upon his face.

Reluctance shot through Monk for a second, but the attacks on his legs won and he handed over the brunette, careful not to scrape her arms, which were red, raw, and blistered from the tea.

Mai barely took notice at the passing of her from Monk to Naru, though a conscious part in her mind seemed to recognize this and she felt a need to recoil from him. And so she did, only just, a barely noticeable change that could have been passed off as an attempt to getting more comfortable.

Naru seemed not to take notice, he sat on the couch and cradled Mai just as Monk had.

She wanted to be angry at him. He had betrayed her worst of all, unknowingly, he had caused all this to happen. She knew this, she knew that she should be angry, that she should hate him, she knew. But she still couldn't bring herself to pull away from him, from the warmth, his warmth.

"Mai," he murmured and she froze, his voice was hard, with underlying threads of danger, she'd heard that before, he was angry, very angry.

The brunette didn't answer, opting instead to stare at the floor.

The SPR irregulars filtered back into the room, Ayako with a first-aid kit.

"Mai," the redhead gently called for the girl's attention, reaching out and picking up her red arms. Mai didn't move, allowing the miko to bandage her arms, she sat there limply, staring at nothing.

Ayako finished and set the kit off to the side, taking the younger girl's hands, "Mai," whispered again, "What happened?"

The girl stared at the ground, wringing her hands in her lap, she didn't want to tell them, she wanted to keep it a secret, but it was impossible now, they had seen her, they had witnessed one of her panic attacks.

"Mai," Naru's cold voice lashed the air, making her flinch.

All of her old friends were gathered in the room, the people she had once regarded as family, the people who had unknowingly betrayed her. They all stared down at her, expectant looks gracing their faces, Lin had even ceased his typing and was now sitting across from the brunette, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped.

"What happened,"

It wasn't a question.


	4. Pretty, Pretty, Pretty

Mai stared at the floor, refusing to look up and risk meeting the eyes of those who had once been her friends.

She didn't want to tell them, she couldn't, she _wouldn't._

"Mai,"

Naru's cold voice whipped around the room once more, causing the girl to flinch.

She had long since slid off his lap, and he had elected to move to sit on the couch opposite her, giving his seat up to Lin, who had finally quit attempting to work.

She could feel all their eyes on her, boring into her, she could feel their curiosity, their concern.

A bitter taste formed in her mouth, she didn't want their concern or their pity. They couldn't have cared less about her before, why should they start now?

Warm hands landed on Mai's arms, pulling the brunette out of her reverie, Ayako kneeled in front of her, a first-aid kit open on the floor, studying the angry red burns that now covered her forearms.

Narrowing her eyes, Mai jerked her arms out of the Miko's grasp.

"I'm fine," she snarled.

Ayako said nothing and, appearing not to have heard the girl at all, simply reached out and pulled Mai's arms back.

She worked efficiently, smoothly, and, in a way that signaled experience, sanitized the burns, applied a topical ointment and wrapped them in gauze. It was over in minutes, the redhead packed up and left to her seat as soon as it was done, still saying nothing.

Mai felt emotion clog her throat as tears began to swim in her eyes.

She quickly blinked them back, reverting her gaze to the floor once again.

She had to tell them, they had a right to know, they were going _there_ after all. A shudder ran through her body just thinking about it. She couldn't just let them go in blind. They had to know what they were up against.

"I- It was the day before you went back to England," she whispered, her cracked voice barely audible in the silent office.

"Lin told me and Masako to..."

Said medium nodded, remembering, "We went to the hotel. You stayed behind when I left, even though it was empty." she said.

Mai shook her head. "No" she whispered, "it wasn't."

* * *

 **5 YEARS PREVIOUSLY**

"Why do I have to go!?"

Her glare would have been a lot more effective if Lin weren't so ridiculously tall. He looked down at her, his indifference tinted with annoyance.

"Because Masako is going and she can only sense the spirits - if there is any at all - _you_ 'll need to exorcise them."

"I want to be here," Mai said, trying to sound firmer than she felt.

"Masako doesn't seem to have any qualms about doing her job."

Lin normally would have realized how stupid that comment was, but he was just so busy and tired from all the packing preparations that he didn't care.

"Well of course she wouldn't! She's going to be helping with cases in England! I'll probably never see any of you again after this weekend, and you want me to spend it wandering a hotel with _Masako_!"

Masako huffed. It was meant to sound slightly offended, but Mai didn't miss the smug undertone.

"I'll meet you at the hotel in 15 minutes," the medium said, cutting off her next rant.

Unfortunately for Lin, it sparked a new one.

"She... you... _all_ of you are so thoughtless! and rude! and- "

"It's shocking that you want to spend any time at all with such horrible people." Lin cut her off once more, a warning tone in his voice, "-although one might think that the girl who decides to yell at secretaries instead of doing her job might feel at home among such _frustrating_ people!"

 _"I was so angry..."_

"You're right! It _is_ shocking that I would spend my time around you people! I hope this is the last time we come face to face! Have a nice time in England!"

 _"We went to the hotel. I_ knew _something was wrong there. But it was late, the hotel manager wanted to leave, and Masako wouldn't stay._

 _"I stayed."_

Masako had left roughly an hour before, right before the hotel manager, a kindly old man, gave her the spare key, informing her to lock up when she was done, and to leave the key in the mailbox.

Walking down the quiet halls, Mai could find nothing amiss. She didn't feel scared, yet the hair on the back of her neck tingled and her hand began to shake. Her body was calling out in protest to every step, like it knew something she didn't.

She probably should have gone back to base to get this set up like a real case - but she wasn't in a mood for another argument with Masako, she didn't want Lin's help, and seeing Naru was bound to make her cry - so she pushed onward alone.

She felt a distinct anger emanating from down the hall.

There was definitely something here, something dark and powerful, even if Masako hadn't sensed it.

It seemed to be drawing her in. Mai felt an almost uncontrollable pull to it, the urge was compelling, compulsive almost.

Mai walked along the darkened hallways, towards the kitchen. If she were smart, she would've turned on the lights, or been talking to someone on the phone, or even recording something. However, all Naru's comments about her intelligence had been whirling through her head, fanning her anger, and so she decided to prove him correct for once, simply to spite him.

A cold feeling of foreboding gnawed at the back of her mind as she neared the kitchen, dread seeping through all the pores in her body.

Every single ounce of sense, every nerve she had screamed at her not to enter the kitchen.

She drew closer to the door.

 _GET OUT OF HERE_ her mind yelled at her, sounding oddly like Gene.

She extended her arm for the doorknob.

 _TURN AROUND_

She grasped the handle, twisting it.

 _GO HOME, GET OUT_

She pushed the door open and stepped in.

The dark of the kitchen enveloped her and a pair of hands shot out to her throat, holding her in place.

Mai opened her mouth to scream, only to find that no sound came out.

She couldn't breathe, her lungs began to spasm, kicking her legs wildly, she attempted to backtrack out the doorway.

Stupid, she was so stupid. Naru was right, she really couldn't so anything on her own. Tears streamed down her face as black spots appeared in her vision, the hands kept her firmly in place as she struggled. A cold feeling washed over her as a face appeared in front of her, hazy and unfocused in her fading vision. All she could make out was a pair of glowing red eyes and an evil grin that sent chills down her spine.

As unconsciousness began to invade her mind, Mai saw the grin move, forming the only words she would hear for a long, long time.

"There now, pretty girl, be good and quiet,"

The voice was nasally, slick, slimy, and made bile rise in her throat.

"Go to sleep now,"

Her vision faded.

"Pretty, pretty pretty. . ."


End file.
